BBC has received major criticism on social media by the Indian community after one of the speakers on BBC Asian Network’s ‘Big Debate’ used offensive language for the mother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Heeraben Modi.
The radio show was hosting a discussion about the racism Indians and the Sikh community face in the United Kingdom. This quickly escalated into a row over the ongoing farmers’ protests in New Delhi against the Centre’s new agriculture laws. One of the callers in the course of the show used derogatory words for PM Modi’s mother, Heeraben Modi. An audio clip of the incident was shared on Twitter that caused outrage. People criticised the radio show makers for not objecting to the remarks. Many also slammed the organisation for permitting the airing of the offensive comments.
In the edited programme, at 1 hour 32 minutes, the anchor issued an apology for the abuses hurled by the caller on the BBC show. “We would like to apologise for the language used by a guest earlier. It’s a live show and we discuss controversial issues but there was no reason for the type of language that was used and I’d like to say sorry again for any offence that was caused,” the acnhor apologised.
